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Obesity is growing problem in county
11:50am Wednesday 26th November 2008
Comments (10)A HEALTH boss has warned there is no magic cure for Worcestershire’s obesity epidemic.
Dr Richard Harling, director of public health for Worcestershire, warned that there was no quick-fix solution for reducing the number of fat people in the county when he addressed a public meeting in Redditch.
Dr Harling talked about Investing in Health for Worcestershire – a plan of how to address health issues like obesity and smoking over the next five years. He said: “Obesity is a big and growing problem if you’ll excuse the pun.
“It’s something the NHS alone will not be able to tackle. I would be delighted if the trust board could agree to commit more medical resources but there is no magic bullet that’s going to cure obesity.”
Trends show deaths from circulatory disease are falling in large part down to fewer people smoking but obesity continues to rise.
One in four adults in Worcestershire are now obese and 40 per cent are in the over eight category, leading to 300 deaths across the county each year.
Obesity has trebled in Worcestershire since the 1970s when one in 12 people was obese.
Less than a third of people do the recommended amount of exercise and the majority do not eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day according to the latest PCT figures.
Smoking and obesity tend to be higher in deprived areas like Warndon, Gorse Hill and Rainbow Hill in Worcester.
As revealed in your Worcester News the cost of obesity will rise to £142 million per year by 2010 and £152 million a year by 2015 unless something is done now to lower obesity levels.
Ambitious schemes such as the Health Improvement Fund which allow people to bid for £75,000 from a £1 million pot to help people become more healthy have been introduced.
Your Say YourWorcester News
laughing girl, Worcester says...
4:58pm Wed 26 Nov 08
big fish, worcester says...
6:27pm Wed 26 Nov 08
jb, worcester says...
7:31pm Wed 26 Nov 08
Logik, Worcester says...
10:12pm Wed 26 Nov 08
Heraclitus wrote:Your pompous attitude is getting rather annoying now. The only one you seem to be concerned about here Herawotsit is yourself.
There seems to be no sense of crisis, yet crisis it surely is. There is not only the direct 'accountable' cost to the tax payer in the millions (wonder if the figures given include making adaptions to buildings, etc.), there is also the cost in terms of the help many of these obese people need (demand might be a better word) from family or friends as their mobility is affected and other aspects of their lives are impacted. And of course the personal cost of failing health. One might say it’s the ‘elephant in the room’ – yet it needs to be said… forget recommendations on exercise and fruit, obese people need to be told to EAT LESS. In terms of scale, I wonder how many of the 1 in 4 obese people tut-tutted at the young people who vandalised their new shelter at a repair cost of a few thousand in the News recently while simultaneously creating the massive bill we see here and self-harming (diabetes, strokes, heart disease,…) in the process. I don’t condone the young vandals, but in scheme of things their ‘protest’ or whatever it was is pretty small beer. If they’re caught it’s likely they’ll get ASBOs. And for the obese there’s… just an increase in the tax bill and a reduction in services for the rest of us.
Perhaps in your ideal world anyone who does not fit in or conform with your views should perhaps be shot, that'll save your taxes then won't it.
varien, Worcester says...
5:04pm Thu 27 Nov 08
The problem is that people eat these meals "as-well-as" and not "instead-of" their regular meals at home.
Heraclitus, Worcester says...
9:26am Sat 29 Nov 08
Logik... if you are feeling annoyed, you need to own that and look at where it is coming from. I have opinions which I am expressing - if you see that as a "pompous attitude", that is your problem. You would, it seems, prefer me not to express a view that differs from yours (which translates to my "ideal world" and your "not fitting in"). Bit of an over-reaction at the end there ("...shot...").
Logik, Worcester says...
8:29pm Sat 29 Nov 08
You are entitled to your view Herathingy but from the above statement it was pretty clear that you were attempting to speak for everyone (the rest of us). I am perfectly capable of speaking for myself thank you.
"forget recommendations on exercise and fruit, obese people need to be told to EAT LESS."
To suggest that people are overweight purely through over indulgence is ridiculous and as Big Fish points out, there can be a number of reasons for people being overweight.
To then try to justify your argument using vandals and a youth shelter was plainly barking. Your whole comment on the subject was rather narrow and small minded (in my view).
KM, Worcester says...
3:46pm Sun 30 Nov 08
Heraclitus, Worcester says...
9:38am Mon 1 Dec 08
90 per cent – number of children today who will be obese by 2050.
£7billion – cost of treatment, benefits, loss of earnings and reduced productivity because of obesity.
£50bn – estimate of the cost to the NHS of obesity in 2050.
11.5 per cent – number of parents who recognise the fact that their children are obese.
9,000 – number of people who die each year through illnesses linked to obesity.
38 per cent – number of parents who know obesity can lead to heart disease."
Britain's obesity timebomb: Will you change your ways? By Alun Palmer and Damien Fletcher 11/11/2008
http://www.mirror.co
.uk/life-style/sex-h
ealth/health-news/20
08/11/11/britain-s-o
besity-timebomb-will
-you-change-your-way
s-115875-20885030/
Obesity is growing problem in county
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Heraclitus, Worcester says...
2:44pm Wed 26 Nov 08